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Cadence: Part 3
She stood in front of the full-length mirror, running her hands over the soft yellow silk that hung so beautifully from her perfectly sculpted body. The right side of the dress had a slit cut to the middle of her thigh, and an open back to expose her bronzed skin. The front was a V-neck halter studded with white and clear beads, and complimented with her mother’s diamond necklace.
Her honey blonde hair was curled and pinned tightly to the top of her head. Not a single strand was out of place, though a few spiral curls framed her face- a gorgeous face that was truly the work of an exquisite artist. Her eyes were outlined in a smoldering black with tints of yellow that brought out the greens in her eyes, her lips were smooth and glossed with the perfect shade of pink to accentuate their fullness.
She finished off her look with a pair of pale yellow, open-toed stilettos. Everything was just right, more than she had imagined, yet she still didn’t feel pretty. She hated that her daddy was gone for the weekend; he wouldn’t see her leave for her senior prom, wouldn’t be there to take the hundreds of pictures she dreaded and loved, wouldn’t grab her by the hand just as she was almost through the door to tell her he wanted her home by one and that she wasn’t to go to any after parties no matter how much her friends begged her to- but he didn’t need to worry; she didn’t feel much like partying tonight. And she knew he wouldn’t because he had completely forgotten about it being prom night when he scheduled his hours for that weekend, and hadn’t remembered as he trudged to his bedroom the night before.
The doorbell rang and she jumped just a little, suddenly nervous and desperate for Aden’s approval. She wasn’t let down; when she opened the door to let him in he stared at her for what seemed hours, leaving no part of her unnoticed. He was always pleased with how she looked, but that night he was even more so.
“You look amazing, really. Yellow is…you.” She bit at her lower lip so her smile wasn’t quite as obvious. He took her hand and led her to the limo, opening the door for her and offering his hand for support as she climbed in. He followed close behind and settled himself as near to her as he could, not wanting to let go of her; she was his for the night.
Their school was a big city school with three gymnasiums, only two of which would be used for their last school dance. One gymnasium carried a winter theme; everything was white and glittered in the soft blue lighting. Fake icicles hung from the ceiling and silver sparkles were sprinkled across the floor. Strands of blue beads were randomly hung from the ceiling, white Christmas trees with blue bulbs and lights were placed tastefully around the gymnasium, and three ice sculptures headed the beverage and hors d’oeuvre tables. The room was attractively offset by a blue, glass vase containing 36 long-stemmed red roses. A live jazz band set the tone with love songs from a clear saxophone accompanied by a piano.
The other gymnasium was in lovely contrast with the other; instead of a dark, winter theme it was decked out in oranges, yellows and reds- colors of the sun and all its warmth. It was a more casual setting with palm trees instead of pine, sand instead of glitter, and loud music blaring from speakers rather than a brass instrument.
They bounced between the two different settings all night, dancing to slow songs in the winter gymnasium when they needed a breather and grinding in the summer room when the jazz music began to lull them off to sleep. The night flew by, as it always does when you don’t want it to end, and midnight came too early.
“Well, Aden, Cinderella turns back into a pumpkin here shortly.”
“Then how about one last dance- to remember.” he held her closer and she let her head fall gently to his shoulder where it felt so natural.
She whispered a few words so softly to herself that he could pretend he hadn’t heard her at all over the music; it was easier leaving their fairytale night as perfect and untainted. He didn’t want to ruin the most amazing night of his life.
“Rather to forget.”
